He had a good sixteen years on her. Nearly her entire lifetime. She must have seen his frown because the next thing he knew she was tracing his furrowed brows telling him, “You keep frowning like that and you’ll be old before your time, Dominic.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Guess you’ll just have to stick around a while to keep me smiling,” he teased her.
“Is that what you want? For me to stick around?”
Her question was loaded with meaning. Choosing his words carefully, he responded, “I want you here every day, Princess. For always. I want you by my side. I want you swollen with as many children as I can put in you. Most importantly, I want us to be us without the hassle.”
“Hassle?”
“Damn near everyone I know goes through the song and dance of playing catch and release. Him chasing her. Her rejecting him. And Princess? I don’t want that. The only thing I want in this life is you with me every day till I die.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah, Princess.”
As he leaned down to kiss her, he heard the telltale squeak of his bathroom door just before a head popped in asking, “What ‘bout me?”
Deedee squealed in shock at being caught in the shower by his son, while he guarded her nude body from his inquisitive gaze. “Yeah, kid. You, too.”
*****
Dee was still laughing while drying off as Dom hustled Jax out of his room and downstairs for a snack. He’d surprised them both. Thankfully, it was before they’d been doing something he shouldn’t have seen.
Dom’s words played on repeat in her mind. He was adamant that he wanted her in both of their lives. She wanted to be but didn’t know how he could be so sure so soon. She was confused over her feelings. She wanted them to be real, but how much was her love for him left over from a child’s crush. She was really going to have to examine how she felt about him now versus the past, not wanting to confuse the two. But everything she was feeling for him in the present screamed he was the real deal. They were perfect together now and forever.
Quickly getting dressed in jean shorts and a flannel shirt, she slipped into her chucks and went in search of her men.
Her men. She liked the sound of that.
Hearing their voices and dishes clattering from the kitchen, she walked in just as Jax asked Dom, “Will pincess be my mommy now?”
She stopped breathing waiting on Dom’s answer. Was she ready for that? She was so young. Could she handle the responsibility of taking care of such a tiny person for life at this age? As she watched Jax practically vibrate in excitement waiting for his dad’s response, she realized the answer was simple.
Yes. Yes to everything.
Dom still had his back to them, so he didn’t see her when he said to Jax, “I wouldn’t mind, son. But that’s something you’re going to have to ask her about.”
“But if she’d gonna be yours, doesn’t dat mean she’s mine, too?” His voice sounded so confused.
Dom finally turned around, freezing when he saw her. She smiled and shook her head, not wanting to interrupt their very important talk.
He continued on as if she weren’t there. “I suppose she could. But she hasn’t said yes to being mine yet either.” His eyes never left hers when he spoke.
“Oh,” Jax mumbled sadly. “But she loves me. She told me so. So that means she’s mine, right?”
She nodded her head to Dom. “Yeah, Jax, she is. And one day soon she’s gonna be mine, too.” The heat in his gaze left her breathless.
Eight
It’d been over a week since Dom had brought Deedee back to Maryland, and they still had no word on what her father was up to or why. The silence was beginning to piss him off. That no one had any information on the man’s plans was infuriating. Whatever it was, he was betting it was highly illegal.
Waiting for an attack he wasn’t sure was coming was frustrating. And not knowing from who, even more so. He wanted to bring the fight to Bradshaw but without a location, he couldn’t execute it. They also hadn’t heard anything else from Brooke and that worried him just as much. She wasn’t one to take things lying down. The vindictive, controlling bitch would strike like a viper the moment she saw her chance. He was afraid Jax would get caught in the crossfire of that battle.
Dee had been extra vigilant of where his son was at all times since then. If he wasn’t with them then he was with Case, and she was still anxious until he was in her sights again. Dom couldn’t be more proud of her. Of the way she welcomed his son with open arms and loved him in a way only a mother could.